Zaproszenie na konferencję Splendid Encounters 12
Splendid Encounters is a series of international and interdisciplinary conferences that aims to bring together scholars from different fields of study to consider diplomacy and diplomatic activities in the early modern period within the broadest possible framework. After eleven successful meetings in, among others, Vienna, Florence, Bath, Budapest, Prague, and Lisbon, we invite you to join us for another event, this time hosted by the University of Warsaw, Faculty of History and Institute of History of Polish Academy of Sciences.
Splendid Encounters XII Organisers: dr Anna Kalinowska, dr Rafał Waszczuk, Klaudia Kuchno
Venue: All conference panels, coffee breaks and lunches will be held at the Columned Hall (Sala Kolumnowa) of the Faculty of History, University of Warsaw. The building is located at Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, within the University’s main campus in the heart of the Old Town.
Getting There: The campus is easily accessible on foot from most central locations. The nearest metro stop is Nowy Świat – Uniwersytet (M2 line), just a short walk away. Several tram and bus lines also serve the area—look for stops near Krakowskie Przedmieście or Uniwersytet. The main gate to the university is clearly marked, and the Columned Hall is located on the ground floor of the Faculty of History building.
PROGRAMME
Monday, 22 September 2025
09:30–10:00 Registration
10:00–11:00 Keynote Address
Giancarlo Casale, First Fake it, Then Make it: Marquis de Bonnac, Yirmisekiz Mehmed, and the first Ottoman Sefaretname
11:00–11:30 Coffee Break
11:30–13:00 Panel 1. Gifts, Bribes, and Corruption
Chair: Rafał Waszczuk
Konstantinos Poulios, More and Less Innocent ‘Gifts’: The Multiple Cases and Faces of Douceur During the Peace Congress of Carlowitz (1698/99)
Piotr Chmiel, Bribery: Theoretical Remarks and Best Practices Shared by Venetian Diplomats
Magdalena Jakubowska, Gift, Present, or Bribe? Corruption in the Diplomatic Service According to Polish-Lithuanian Experiences at the Turn of the 16th and 17th Centuries
13:00–14:00 Lunch
14:00–16:00 Panel 2. Diplomacy by Deception
Chair: Mariusz Kaczka
Chris Kostov, Stolen Secrets: French Espionage and the Venetian Deception over Murano Glass
Maxime Morel, How to Fabricate a Diplomatic Incident: Early Modern Naval Salutes as Tools of Deception and Uncertainty
Kolja Lichy, “Arnaud”, “Matthieu” and the Sly Side of Habsburg Peacemaking: Espionage at the Congress of Soissons
Ela Bozok, The Negotiations for Rhodes: Deceits, Threats, and Surrender
16:00–16:30 Coffee Break
16:30–18:00 Panel 3. English Intrigues
Chair: Giancarlo Casale
Paulina Kewes, Mary Queen of Scots’ Ultimate Subterfuge
Anna Kalinowska, “A man with the changing nature of a chameleon, the soul of a Cretan, a jester…” Christopher Parkins and English diplomacy
Hanna Mazheika, Rumours Spread by ‘Malicious People’: Conspiracy, Reconciliation, and Unofficial Diplomacy between King James VI/I and Janusz I Radziwiłł
Tuesday, 23 September 2025
10:00–11:00 Panel 4. Multilateral Tensions and Multiple Culprits
Chair: Paulina Kewes
Dorota Gregorowicz, Habsburg Dependences of the Post-Tridentine Apostolic Nuncios (1562–1605)
Kryštof Halamek, Imperial Residents in the Holy Roman Empire (1648–1740). An Overview and Analysis
11:00–11:30 Coffee Break
11:30–13:00 Panel 5. Diplomatic Personnel and Misconduct
Chair: Jan Błoński
Gleb Kazakov, Theft, Drunkenness and Debauchery: Deviant Behaviour of Muscovite Envoys at European Courts
Mariusz Kaczka, Translator–Traitor in Early Modern Mediterranean Diplomacy Aneliya Stoyanova, European Diplomatic Intrigues at the Ottoman Court: Тhe Spanish Treaty (1620s)
13:00–14:00 Lunch
14:00–15:00 Panel 6. Conflict within the Ranks
Chair: Klaudia Kuchno
Maciej Polak, Unwanted Collaborator: Conflict Among Sigismund Augustus’s Diplomatic Agents in Naples
Marius Sirutavičius, Ambitions at Odds: Conflicts Among Polish-Lithuanian Diplomatic Representatives in the Early Seventeenth Century
15:00–15.30 Coffee Break
15:30 Final Remarks
